Forty-nine years without an army

By R. Saenz and G. Chaves, La Nacion, 2 December 1997

SAN JOSE - On December 1, 1948, the chief of
the victorious revolutionary army of Costa
Rica, Jose Figueres-Ferrer, disbanded his
forces and declared the abolition of the armed
forces of this Central American country.

Figueres, popularly known as "Don Pepe", did
so as chairman of the Founding Board of the
Second Republic, which temporarily ruled the
country until the president elect, Otilio
Ulate, was inaugurated.

The abolition of the army was then consecrated
in the Constitution of 1949.

The current President of Costa Rica, Jose
Maria Figueres, a son of Don Pepe, yesterday
inaugurated the National Center for High
Technology (CENAT in Spanish) and, during his
address, remembered the transcendental
decision made by his father.

"We Costa Ricans have no doubt about the
transcendence of that decision, however
controversial it was at the time, because it
enabled this country, more than anything else,
to consolidate the democratic, pacifist, and
stable Costa Rica that we are so proud of."

President Figueres also remarked that Don Pepe
"was the only victorious general who
disbanded his army (after the 1948 civil
war)."

The abolition of the army enabled the state to
dedicate more resources to education and
health, and made it stand apart from the other
Central American nations, which have been
besieged by coups d'etat, dictatorships,
military rulers, and civil wars.

Costa Rica now has an illiteracy rate under 7
percent and the best development indices in
Central America, according to studies from the
United Nations Program for Development.

Also, this nation has played a leading role in
the pacification of Central America.
Ex-President Dr. Oscar Arias was bestowed with
the Nobel Peace Award in 1987 because of his
work toward ending the civil wars in
Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

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